But if you're the kind of person who wears reindeer antlers at the office and listens to 103.5/KOST during its monthlong all-Christmas format, you might be tempted to make the red cup a regular gift to yourself. Don't do it: These beverages are brimming with enough calories to gag a sugar-plum fairy.

The Starbucks website (which also offers needed information like what Brits call eggnog: "egg flip") lays out the grim facts: A Grande eggnog latte with whole milk has 470 calories, 22 grams of fat and 48 grams of sugar. Ordering it with soy milk only lops off 10 calories, and going with nonfat milk only trims 30. The Peppermint Mocha, with whole milk and whipped cream, has 440 calories, 19 grams of fat and 54 grams of sugar. The Gingerbread Latte, also with whole milk and whipped cream, has 360 calories, 17 grams of fat and 37 grams of sugar.

One of these a day until Christmas, and Santa won't have the only belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly.

We'll leave it to your better judgment as to whether you should go no-whip or 2 percent milk, but to really cut down on the excess, try making your own beverages at home.

"You can control it a lot more than your barista at the local coffeehouse can," says Stephanie Manley, who created the website CopyKat.com to share recipes that approximate commercial favorites.

Home brews allow you the freedom to choose your own ingredients, such as Trader Joe's light eggnog, which has only 110 calories, 1 gram of fat and 18 grams of sugar in every half-cup serving.

Of course, you could go fully egg-negatory and make nog that has no fat whatsoever. But will Egg Beaters and skim milk really bring you holiday cheer?

Many home eggnog latte recipes call for an espresso maker to generate the heat (not to mention the eggnog-and-milk froth) you need. But Manley, who lives in Houston, says a vintage Moka pot (a stovetop maker) makes a "pretty mean espresso."

If you don't have one of those around, her recipe doesn't require one:

Ingredients:

2 servings espresso

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of eggnog

freshly ground nutmeg, if desired

Instructions:

Prepare espresso, or make one very strong coffee. Heat together 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of eggnog for about 1 minute in the microwave. Froth milk by using a milk frother. If you don't have one, you can pour milk into a blender for about 30 seconds. If you don't have a blender, you can put your milk in a jar, or even a cocktail shaker, and shake for about 1 minute. The milk will froth up and almost double in size.

Pour 1 serving of coffee into a coffee cup, and top with 1/2 of the milk and eggnog. Top with whipped cream and grated eggnog, if desired.